Swot Analysis

Discuss Swot Analysis within the Marketing Management ( RM , IM ) forums, part of the Resolve Your Query - Get Help and discuss Projects category; Well friends i will give a brief about Swot analysis over here.
It is a very common tool to analyze ...

Well friends i will give a brief about Swot analysis over here.
It is a very common tool to analyze a company but not all are aware about it

A SWOT analysis is a valuable tool for many reasons, but in a marketing plan it is absolutely essential.
SWOT stands for internal Strengths and Weaknesses and external Opportunities and Threats.
The internal elements are those that either strengthen or weaken your business. For example, on the strengths side, are you well capitalized? Do you have well-trained staff?
On the weaknesses, you could be understaffed, have inexperienced management, etc. Internal elements are those that you, as the owner or manager, see but your customers don't.
On the external side, you have Opportunities and Threats. These are external elements, which means you may have little control over them, but you are aware of them and they become a part of your strategy, especially turning those threats into opportunities. For example, an external opportunity would be a new product launch like Amul saw opportunity and launched Amul Pizzas
The external threats you will get from competition and the community, as well as state and federal laws. For example, did your competition just build a branch close to you?
Anything that impacts your customers directly can be considered an external opportunity or threat (in the case of not offering your customers the value of service they expect).
Most students have a hard time figuring out whether an item is external or internal. If the customer or your competition can see it, it's external. If you and your staff can see it, it's internal.

Well i feel i have explained what is SWOT analysis lemme gimme an eg of ICICI bank first u shud knw its facts before starting any SWOT analysis here are some of the faqcts which i got it from the official site of the ICICI bank

FACTS(ICICI Bank Online)
ICICI Bank is India's second-largest bank with total assets of Rs. 3,997.95 billion (US$ 100 billion) at March 31, 2008 and profit after tax of Rs. 41.58 billion for the year ended March 31, 2008. ICICI Bank is second amongst all the companies listed on the Indian stock exchanges in terms of free float market capitalisation*. The Bank has a network of about 1,308 branches and 3,950 ATMs in India and presence in 18 countries. ICICI Bank offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries and affiliates in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital and asset management. The Bank currently has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Russia and Canada, branches in United States, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Dubai International Finance Centre and representative offices in United Arab Emirates, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Our UK subsidiary has established branches in Belgium and Germany.

ICICI Bank's equity shares are listed in India on Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

below is the file where i have attached a document where there is a swot done by me on ICICI bank

there's a better trend these days .. then SWOT .. but i cant remember the name .. that is very in ... its being taught to me in my 1st year ... and i think SWOT analysis of big companies are done by themselves and sometimes published .. in their annual reports ..

SWOT analysis helps you balance idealism and pragmatism, and obtain a balanced perspective of your internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats to develop an effective strategy.

Why SWOT Analysis?

SWOT Analysis is the Key Component of Strategic Development. It can prompt actions and responses.

Successful businesses build on their strengths, correct their weaknesses and protect against internal vulnerabilities and external threats. They also keep an eye on their overall business environment and spot and exploit new opportunities faster than competitors. SWOT analysis is a tool that helps many businesses in this process.

SWOT analysis is based on the assumption that if managers can carefully review such strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, a useful strategy for ensuring organizational success will become evident to them.

Strengths

Two factors contribute to your strengths: ability and resources available.

Ability is evaluated on 3 counts:

Versatility: your ability to adapt to an ever changing environment.

Growth: your ability to maintain a continuing growth.

Markets: your ability to penetrate or create new markets.

The strength of resources has three dimensions:

Availability: your ability to obtain the resources needed.

Quality: the quality and up-to-dateness of the resources employed.

Allocation: your ability to distribute resources both effectively and efficiently.

Weaknesses

Your weaknesses are determined through failures, defeats, losses and inability to match up with the dynamic situation and rapid change. The weaknesses may be rooted in lack of managerial skills, insufficient quality, technological backwardness, inadequate systems or processes, slow deliveries, or shortage of resources. There are three possible outcomes to the analysis of your weaknesses.1

Correction of an identified defect.

Protection through cover-up and prevention strategies to reduce the exposure of your weaknesses.

Aggression to divert the attention from your weaknesses.

Opportunities

Opportunities are abundant. You must develop a formula which will help you define what comes within the ambit of an opportunity to focus on those areas and pursue those opportunities where effectiveness is possible. The formula must define product/service, target market, capabilities required and resources to be employed, returns expected and the level of risk allowed.

Weaknesses of your competitions are also opportunities for you. You can exploit them in two following ways:

Marketing warfare: attacking the weak leader's position and focusing all your efforts at that point, or making a surprise move into an uncontested area.

Collaboration: you can use your complementary strengths to establish a strategic alliance with your competitor.

Threats

External threats arise from political, economic, social, technological (PEST) forces. Technological developments may make your offerings obsolete. Market changes may result from the changes in the customer needs, competitors' moves, or demographic shifts. The political situation determines government policy and taxation structure.